Serological survey of toxoplasmosis in Somalia

Abstract

Of 356 samples of human sera collected from native patients in two distinct zones of Somalia, 53% were positive (greater than or equal to 1:8) to the dye-test for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. A significantly lower incidence (P less than 0.01) of infection was found in patients living in the arid Mogadishu area, compared to that in patients from villages on the river borders, situated in humid soil zones. Furthermore, in 4.2% of the river area cases the titres were over 300 I.U., indicating that acute T. gondii infection exists among the Somalian population. These differences were regarded as being due to climatic and geographical conditions rather than to diet or socio-economic conditions.

Prevalence of Anti-Toxoplasma gondii and Anti-Brucella Spp. Antibodies in Pregnant Women From Mogadishu, Somalia

“…Since the Somali civil war of the 1990s, no studies have been conducted on the prevalence and importance of toxoplasmosis and brucellosis in human beings from Somalia, a livestock dependent country in East Africa with a population of around 12.3 million (22). Previous studies conducted in the 1980s in the country have showed toxoplasmosis prevalence ranging from 10 to 61.2% in the general human population (12,13,23) and 0% in pregnant women (12), while prevalence of brucellosis ranged between 0 and 0.6% (15,24).…”

“…Somali people do not usually keep pets, but stray cats sometimes let into the houses and some households perform their house activities on the ground with a possibility of high risk of contamination (12). Hygienic conditions, socio-economic structure, food and environment can collectively have a notable influence on the diffusion of T. gondii (13). Moreover, a previous study has reported the presence of T. gondii (3.12%) in raw milk of camel from Iran (14).…”

“…Somalia is a tropical developing country in which climatic and living conditions favors the dissemination of zoonotic pathogens. Despite public and economic importance of toxoplasmosis and brucellosis, few data are available in Somali people (12,13,15) and their animals (16)(17)(18)(19)(20). In addition, there are little or no concerted medical and veterinary efforts to maximize toxoplasmosis and brucellosis detection rates.…”

A Review on the Present Advances on Studies of Toxoplasmosis in Eastern Africa

“…Two surveys conducted over 20 years ago showed that a prevalence exceeding 50% in Somalia while. A survey carried out on 108 abattoir workers of Djibouti slaughter house revealed a prevalence of 42.6% for toxoplasmosis [89,90].…”

Assessment of Testosterone Hormone Level in Patients with Toxoplasmosis Attending Omdurman Military Hospital

“…With the realization of toxoplasmosis as an opportunistic infection in AIDS, renewed interest has emerged in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Africa. Recent surveys have shown wide variations in the prevalence and epidemiologic pattern of toxoplasmosis in different African countries Somalia 43.6 [1] Mauritania 14.5% [2], Kenya 54% [3],Nigeria 58.9% [4] ,Libya 52% [5],Burundi 41.1% [6] ,Niger 18.2%) [7], in Sudan the only information available on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis dates back to 1966 (Carter &Fleck 1966).…”